There are many different types of pillows on the market today. Some offer varying levels of cervical support, and many are made from state of the art materials that offer improved support characteristics.
Often, people prefer differing levels of pillow firmness at different times. Some prefer a relatively firm pillow over a soft pillow. Most pillows made of conventional materials offer a firmness characteristic that cannot be changed; in other words, there is typically no way to adjust a pillow to another user's preferences. Instead, the user is forced to purchase another pillow having different firmness characteristics. The need for adjustability spawned the field of adjustable pillows, commonly filled with air.
An air-filled pillow can be adjusted by the individual user to varying levels of firmness for a customized and comfortable firmness configuration. For example, a person that sleeps on their back may prefer a pillow of medium firmness, while a person that sleeps on their side should utilize a firm pillow for proper neck support. Inflatable pillows have even been formed with special sections that provide extra cervical support. These pillows have an extra chamber that can be separately inflated to a different level of firmness than the main pillow chamber. Inflatable pillows also have the advantage of being easy to transport, since they are relatively compact when deflated.
Although inflatable pillows available today can provide adjustable firmness, it is desirable to further improve the comfort of inflatable pillows, while still allowing them to be easily transportable and easy to inflate.